The opening session of the conference organized by the Faculty of Education was given by Father Joan Costa, the rector of the parish of Virgen de Belén in Barcelona. In his talk, The Joy of Communicating the Gospel, Fr. Joan offered essential advice on how to spread the word of God around the world and invited those present to think about their own part in promoting the Gospel. “I believe there’s something we’re not doing right, given that so few people engage in religious practice and that, in sociological terms, religion is so little widespread”.

This inaugural Conference for Teachers of Religious Studies was launched in order to seek out and improve educational resources for the teaching of Catholicism in schools. It is aimed at catechists and the teachers of preschool, primary-school and secondary-school children.

The conference will draw to a close on Saturday, 22 November 2014, with a talk from Monsignor Sebastià Taltavull, the Auxiliary Bishop of Barcelona, on the subject of what the Church expects from a teacher of religious studies.